Goodbye George Steinbrenner, From A Devout Mets Fan And Yankees Hater

I speak only for myself and not for all of those committed to both loving the Mets and hating the Yankees, when I say, George Steinbrenner was the best enemy any baseball fan could have. His contributions to the sport were monumental and for the best. He raised the standards of economic and athletic competition in the game and forced many teams to spend more shrewdly and play more determinedly. His devotion to the game and to the fans is unrivaled in any front office in any city. He built an astounding legacy of excellence which has given so many people around the country and around the world, but, especially in my city and in my beloved Bronx home of the last ten years such incredible joy, pride, excitement, and consolation in life.

Even as a Yankee hater I take extraordinary pleasure in the many defeats and set backs the Yankees have suffered, the many thrilling underdog success stories made possible only through their opposition, and the many legendary teams which were built out of sheer determination to beat the Yankees. The contribution of such an incredibly determined competitor as George Steinbrenner to even his rivals’ lives should serve as a testimony and inspiration to the competitive heart in all of us.

It’s good to fight for our side, it’s good to force our enemies to become greater, and it is a sweeter victory when we have more bitter rivals.

And there is no victory, but only sadness and all too human defeat, in losing such a great rival as George Steinbrenner.

You will be deeply missed. Hating the Yankees will never be quite the same without you.

Dr. Daniel Fincke has his PhD in philosophy from Fordham University and spent 11 years teaching in college classrooms. He wrote his dissertation on Ethics and the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. On Camels With Hammers, the careful philosophy blog he writes for a popular audience, Dan argues for atheism and develops a humanistic ethical theory he calls “Empowerment Ethics”. Dan also teaches affordable, non-matriculated, video-conferencing philosophy classes on ethics, Nietzsche, historical philosophy, and philosophy for atheists that anyone around the world can sign up for. (You can learn more about Dan’s online classes here.) Dan is an APPA (American Philosophical Practitioners Association) certified philosophical counselor who offers philosophical advice services to help people work through the philosophical aspects of their practical problems or to work out their views on philosophical issues. (You can read examples of Dan’s advice here.) Through his blogging, his online teaching, and his philosophical advice services each, Dan specializes in helping people who have recently left a religious tradition work out their constructive answers to questions of ethics, metaphysics, the meaning of life, etc. as part of their process of radical worldview change.

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